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Modern Britian

Image Source: Elliott Brown

Spartacus Internet Encyclopedia
This Spartacus Educational resource concentrates mostly on British history from the medieval era. Contains overviews, essays, images and subtopics such as: British History 1700-1900, Slavery 1750-1870, RR 1780-1900, and Emancipation of Women 1750-1920. Offers a Tudor Encyclopedia, Biographies: 1485-1600, an Encyclopedia of British History, 1700-1900, an Encyclopedia of the English Civil War, an Encyclopedia of Politics in Britain: 1750-1950, Chartism Encyclopedia, Journalists and Newspapers 1700-1945, Parliamentary Reform 1700-1832, Peterloo Massacre, history timelines, online lessons, web site reviews, two free online newsletters, and more.

Britannia: British History
The Internet’s “most comprehensive” treatment of the Times, Places, Events and People of British History. This Britannia site features narrative histories of England, Wales, Scotland and London, timelines, biographies, glossaries, bibliographies, historical documents, and much more. Well organized, clear, and detailed but some content is for Brittania’s “British History Club” members only. (Cost is $20/yr.)

BBC: History
BBC’s History section offers an impressive array of exhibitions, activities, games, photo galleries and other resources. Major Sections of interest include: Ancient History, Archaeology, Church and State, Science and Discovery, Society and Conflict, War and Culture, and Historic Figures. There are also sections entitled Multimedia Room, Historic Figures, Timelines, Programmes, Reading Room, Talk History, For Kids, and History Trails. Great site for students.

The Victorian Web
George P. Landow, Professor of English and Art History at Brown University, directs this broad and comprehensive resource for courses in Victorian literature. This award-winning site is full of material on Victorian era sub-topics (Political, Social, Gender, Philosophy, Religion, Science, Technology, Visual Arts, Entertainment, etc.) and each section typically features a concise essay, some images, and internal links that lead to much more information. Furthermore, Victorian Web offers bibliographies, many related external links, and visitors are encouraged to contribute materials.

Victorian Research Web
The Victoria Research Web, created in 1996 on the Indiana University server and recently moved to its own domain, is a wide-ranging guide to research for students, teachers, and scholars pursuing interests in 19th-Century British history and culture. Victorian Research Web is not an encyclopedia of the period, but a valuable set of tools for researchers. The archives feature over nine years’ worth of scholarly discussion by Victorianists around the world, while other features include a portal to dozens of reviews of books of 19th-century interest and tips for planning a trip to Britain.

Monuments and Dust: The Culture of Victorian London
Monuments and Dust is the work of an international group of scholars assembling a complex visual, textual, and statistical representation of Victorian London. The project relates not only the social and cultural life of London, but also the historical transformations during the reign of Victoria. Available are Texts, Data, Models, Maps, and Online Publications. The site includes extracts from Victorian editions of The Times and information on various cultural issues of the time. There is also a 3-D model of Crystal Palace, site of the Great Exhibition. An excellent research site.

Queen Victoria’s Empire
Discover Queen Victoria with this PBS site. Learn about her family and the people and places that shaped her reign. Features lesson plans and a game and is a helpful introduction for students to Queen Victoria.

Power, Politics, and Protest
This interactive UK National Archives Learning Curve exhibition investigates the political changes that took place during the 19th century. It contains eight different investigations of the political history of Britain between 1800 and 1914 (Radicals, Luddites, Captain Swing, Peterloo, Great Reform Act, the Chartists, White Slavery and the Suffragettes). Students learn of the role of key individuals in each investigation and how their actions impacted British history.

The Workshop of the World
This BBC website by Professor Pat Hudson introduces you to the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution. Using models, it covers The Rocket, a Paddle Steamship, and a Spinning Mill.

British Empire in 1815
Britain was firmly established by 1815 and along with France, Russia, Ottoman Turkey, and China, was one of the world’s great imperial powers. This BBC essay by Professor Andrew Porter explains how Britain achieved preeminence and features color maps, related articles, links, and more.

Victorian Britain: Fair or Foul?
Was Victorian Britain fine or not? This UK National Archives Learning Curve website, written by teachers about aspects of life in Victorian Britain, debates this issue. Features documents, photographs, video and sound recordings.

English History and Heritage Guide
Key periods in English history are covered here through concise essays. Topics of interest include: The Tudor Era, Stuart Britain, Georgian Britain, The Victorian Age, and Timeline of English Monarchs. See also British Battles for accounts of some of the most influential battles fought on British soil. Each battle profile contains facts about the battle: who was involved and why, account of the battle, and results.

History Learning Site
Student-oriented resources are on offer here on many different historical periods and people, such as Tudor England, Stuart England, Britain 1700 to 1900.

British Empire
This site analyzes and describes the Empire and includes timelines, maps, photos of colonies, descriptions of battles, and more. Note that it is more of a “personal journey” than a rigorous academic site.